From: Erik (felldoh_at_voyager.net)
Date: Thu May 15 2008 - 01:43:14 PDT
"I'm back" continued from "The Invisible Man" Location: San Francisco, EARTH Stardate: 2.80514.1730 Scene: Near the Pendragon Residence Ben Kenta materialized in the street he had walked down many times. A few people looked over at him curiously as they walked by. It was a busy part of town and transporter beams weren't rare, but most people beamed directly to their destination, as opposed to the middle of the road. Normally, Ben would have appeared just outside his son's house, but this time he had chosen a spot a few blocks away. He could use the walk to prepare himself for the inevitable confrontation with Arthur's mother. The PATRIOT had arrived at SB1 just a few hours after the senior staff had entered the holodeck, and the majority of the staff had left for shoreleave without realizing their superiors were trapped. When they were finally released by the holodeck's safeties overriding the program he had dismissed the remaining staff, and arranged for an officer from the station to take the bridge watch. He suspected the leave would be short and, like Tam, thought the senior staff needed a break, especially since they were likely to head back to the Gamma quadrant soon. The PATRIOT's captain stopped on the step of the house he most often stayed at when his ship visited EARTH. Taking a deep breath he steeled himself for whatever might come before knocking. She answered the door as if she'd been expecting him. Despite their mutual affection, Ben and Tellah had long ago accepted that they would never work out long term. On his visits they fought as often as not, mostly about Arthur. Tellah had given up her career in Starfleet for their son and felt Ben should do the same. His guilt was her greatest ally in their private war, and though Ben had so far always won, he knew the war with the Dominion would provide her with fresh ammunition. "Ben, I heard you'd docked. Come in." It wasn't strange for his duties to keep him from visiting for a day or more after the PATRIOT arrived, but he normally contacted her if that would be the case. He was glad she didn't ask why he hadn't this time. He didn't want to explain what had happened on the holodeck. "Thank you." Ben said, stepping into the house. The children would not be home from school for another hour. They were alone. "How is everyone?" "Sakyl is sick, but it's not serious." She began, indicated he should take a seat while walking to the replicator. "The rest of us are doing well." She ordered two glasses of some sort of tea Ben had never heard of, and then joined him. "How are you doing?" She asked with sympathy clear in her eyes. "I heard about Martin." The remark caught him off-guard. "You read the casualty reports?" She nodded. "I know he was your friend. I'm sorry." "Thank you." Ben replied, taking a sip of the strange tea, "How do you feel?" =/\= Location: USS PATRIOT Scene: Holodeck Time Index: While the crew is still trapped. "Ensign, may I speak with you a moment." "Of course, sir." Tam replied, surprised to hear a request rather than a command coming from her CO. "You've been trying to get me in your office for a long time and I've been putting it off." Tam thought she detected a hint of irritation in his voice. "Well I don't seem to have anything going on now." Tam was shocked. After months of avoiding her attempts to make an appointment she had never expected him to actually approach her. Still she was a little concerned about his timing. "Sir, are you sure this is the best time?" The situation in the holodeck made her nervous. "I'll admit I don't know anything about these characters Maverick and Sterling are worried about," Ben was altogether unfamiliar with gothic literature. In fact, the oldest book he had ever read post dated all the programs source material by a few centuries. "But I'm not worried. If Catherine explained the genre to me correctly the program will try to create a mystery for us to solve by killing other characters, not us." He looked over his shoulder at Catherine and Maverick, who were talking intently, and smiled cryptically. "Besides," he added, "The safeties are on." She realized that he was right and quickly glanced at the other two officers. Had they also forgotten about the safeties, or were they simply allowing themselves to get caught up in the program? She wondered. "So where do you want to start?" Ben said, turning back to the subject at hand. "The Battle of Gateway." Commander. Davidson had warned her he didn't like counseling, so she decided it was best to be direct while he seemed to be cooperating. "The ship was disabled, and you were severely injured. According to protocol, those are both reason enough for an evaluation." She hoped invoking protocol would make it seem like business and keep him comfortable. Ben was quiet for few moments, as if considering his reply. "I've been in worse shape before, and the doctors say my injuries are fully healed." "And what about the battle itself? How do you feel about that?" The bajoran officer probed. Ben was quiet again for a moment, but then seemed to resign himself and replied with a bluntness that surprised her. "You'll call it survivor's guilt." "You mean the rest of the bridge crew." Tam stated. "You think you should have died with them?" "None of us should have died." He replied with some heat. "I made a mistake. I should have anticipated the Jem'Hadar suicide run." "You can't blame yourself for that." Tam tried to comfort him. "In the Federation we value life over almost all else. How can you be ready for anyone, even your enemy to throw theirs away like that." Ben shook his head. "It's a well documented tactic, and the only way they could have stopped the PATRIOT in time. They've done it for less reason in the past. I should've seen it coming." "You know if you'd succeeded and destroyed GATEWAY, a lot more people would have died." Tam pointed out. Ben didn't respond, so after a pause she changed the subject. "Before we left the station Commander Davidson came to speak with me about you. I understand you're close." Ben grimaced. "We'd agreed to keep our relationship a private affair." He said, sounding irritated again. "Whatever she told you, I'd appreciate it if you kept it to yourself." "She didn't tell me anything like that." Tam spoke quickly, not wanting to cause trouble between the two former crewmates. She didn't know the nature of their relationship, or their history. "It's just that she's very concerned about you." The captain's face softened. "I know she is." "When we spoke, she suggested that you wouldn't want to talk to her." Tam pushed, sensing she was close to something. "She was right." He sounded both resigned and regretful. "Why not?" "It has to be that way." Tam furrowed her brow. "I don't understand." Ben smiled sadly. "You're not supposed to." he looked her in the eye. "But I don't suppose you'll accept that as an answer." Tam smiled back. "No." Ben looked at the rest of the officers, now standing in one group, busily discussing their next move. Tam simply waited, and finally he spoke. "We're at war. I'm responsible for 572 lives. Those people depend on me to make the decisions that determine whether they live or die. I can't afford to be distracted." "And Commander Davidson is a distraction?" She finished for him when she realized he wouldn't. He looked at her again before answering. "When I realized I had to destroy GATEWAY I wasn't thinking about the possibility of a Jem'Hadar Kamikaze attack. I was thinking about her." He spoke slowly, obviously trying to force the emotion out of his voice by strength of will alone. " And because of that my best friend, and 113 others, lost their lives." "It wasn't your fault, Captain." Tam replied, quietly. "It's human nature to think about the people you care about when they are in danger." Ben gave her a hard look, and spoke determinedly. "I can't let it happen again." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NRPG: Hey everyone, I'm alive! For those that don't have the details, I've been dealing with a difficult illness that had me basically bedridden for the better part of two months. I've recovered now, but have been very busy with trying to get my RL back together. I'm hoping to be back to regular posting, but it might still be a bit spotty for awhile. Can everyone please send me a quick message with their status? I know this is a busy time of year for a lot of people, and if most of the crew is unable to post we'll hold off for awhile before starting the next mission, otherwise I'll send out an opener sometime next week, so if you have any requests include those. Rahul & Taylor: Thanks for holding down the fort while I was gone. I really appreciate it. Erik Walz Captain Benjamin Kenta Commanding Officer USS PATRIOT 5781-A & Lt. Seloron Junior ACT Instructor Starfleet Academy, Earth From HyperNews_at_youth.net
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